area,subject,position,key_figure,notes
"late fees","No statutory cap","Georgia sets no maximum late fee for residential rentals. The amount is whatever the lease provides.","no cap","Policed only by the general rule against contractual penalties. Sources suggest courts treat fees in the range of four to ten percent of monthly rent as reasonable, but the figures differ between them and none is statutory."
"late fees","No grace period required","Georgia does not require a landlord to allow any grace period before charging a late fee. A fee can technically apply the day after rent is due if the lease permits.","none required","Market practice commonly includes a voluntary three to five day grace period, which is a competitive choice rather than an obligation."
"late fees","Must be in the lease","A late fee not stated in the written lease is generally unenforceable. Verbal agreements about late fees do not bind.","written only",
"application fees","Not regulated at all","Georgia sets no limit on rental application or tenant screening fees, does not tie the charge to what a report costs, and requires no receipt, no refund, no disclosure before collection and no denial notice beyond federal requirements.","no cap","Compare New York, which caps application fees at twenty dollars."
entry,"No notice period for entry","Georgia has no statute specifying a minimum advance notice before a landlord may enter a rental unit.","no statutory period","Florida requires twelve hours and most states following the uniform act require twenty four to forty eight. Georgia is silent."
"deposit interest","Not required","Georgia does not require a landlord to pay interest on a security deposit. The word interest does not appear in the state security deposit article.",none,"Chicago requires annual interest at a rate set by the City Comptroller, and Massachusetts requires it at the lesser of five percent or actual. Georgia requires nothing."
"rent control","Preempted since at least 1984","O.C.G.A. 44-7-19 preempts local rent control. No Georgia city or county may enact rent stabilization or a rent cap.",preempted,"So a tenant cannot benefit from any local rent limit anywhere in the state."
"rent increases","No separate notice statute","Georgia has no statute governing notice of a rent increase. Notice is derived from the termination provisions, which require sixty days from a landlord to end a tenancy at will under 44-7-7.","derived, not direct","Compare Chicago, which requires up to one hundred and twenty days notice of any increase by tenancy length."
"manufactured homes","No separate act","Georgia has no manufactured home community tenancy act. A resident who owns the home and rents the lot falls under the general landlord and tenant law at Title 44 Chapter 7, which sets no ceiling on lot rent.","general law applies",
"what does exist","Deposit cap","Two months rent for leases entered into or renewed on or after 1 July 2024, under O.C.G.A. 44-7-30.1. The cap applies to any refundable move in charge regardless of what the lease calls it and cannot be waived by agreement.","2 months","See the documented error note in this dataset. Guidance still describing no limit is out of date."
"what does exist","Deposit return","Thirty days from the end of the tenancy, with an itemized statement of any deductions, under 44-7-34.","30 days",
"what does exist",Habitability,"The Safe at Home Act added an express statutory warranty of habitability at O.C.G.A. 44-7-13(b), and the repair duties cannot be waived by lease.","implied in every lease",
"what does exist","No self help eviction","A landlord cannot remove a tenant without a court issued writ of possession under 44-7-1.","writ required",